The Gambling Commission decided in March of this year to put a limit on wagering requirements on casino bonus at 10x. This had a split opinion in the industry as it was such a massive change. Many have supported this change due to the fact higher wagering encourages people to gamble more than they should and by capping them players would have a fairer chance and certainly more transparent.
It may be a shock to some people that many bettors don’t even understand the concept of the wagering requirements, they see it as they can’t withdraw winning funds which of course makes them not trust the casinos. These new rules implemented should make players feel more at ease and build trust with the casino companies.
Like anything there are always some cons to changes and in this case bonuses may lose their value and smaller operators might struggle to stay competitive in such a big market. We still feel that the change has more benefits than negatives.
So what is actually changing?
The new rules, starting in December 2025 go beyond wagering requirements:
- You can’t cross bonuses for example casinos can’t offer promotions that are linked to sports betting and so forth. The regulator says this reduces confusion but also doesn’t encourage players to use all the betting opportunities that they wouldn’t normally unless there was a promotion.
- The cap which is set at 10x means instead of having to wager £500 for a £10 win (50x wagering) you will only need to turnover £100 which makes it fairer to the consumer as well as less harmful.
Now we will look at the positives of the new cap
- Player experience: With all the casinos in the UK having “low wagering” this creates an opportunity for platforms to compete even more and offer no wagering requirements on certain promotions.
- Trust and loyalty: Players want easy terms and no confusion so low wagering is simple, fast withdrawals and no hoops to jump through to get winning will also improve more regular custom to a particular brand.
- Giving the gamer a slight advantage on the promotions: Brands such as PlayOJO have already shown that the low/no wagering attracts and keeps customers using their platform.
Now we will look at the negatives of the 10x cap
- Minimum bonuses: To protect operators’ margins they may cut bonus value and already some offer less than £5. If the service isn’t great this could easily drive bettors to unlicensed sites that offer more attractive offers.
- Impact on the smaller betting companies: The margins being so tight and the competition so high may push the smaller firms to reconsider using the UK market which would mean the UK consumer would have less choice of betting companies to use
To summarize
It’s very early days at the moment but if other regulators follow suit, the logic is clear. Players want simple terms and fairness when using a betting company. Low wagering or none at all is a chance to build more long term relationships with the customer as well as it being a mandatory rule to hold their license.